SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University women's lacrosse team picked up a crucial Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference victory Saturday by defeating No. 19 Lock Haven University by an 11-7 score. The win marked the first for The Rock over Lock Haven since 1989, snapping a streak of 16 straight wins by the Bald Eagles in the series.
 
More importantly than snapping the losing streak against Lock Haven was that the two teams entered the game tied for fifth place in the PSAC standings. SRU comes out with a 10-3 overall record and a 5-3 mark in PSAC games, while LHU drops to 7-6 overall and 4-4 in league games.
 
Saturday's game marked the third straight against a nationally ranked opponent for SRU, which came up just short in a 10-8 loss to No. 11 West Chester and a 10-7 loss to No. 18 Indiana (Pa.) over the last week. The Rock are now 3-2 against teams listed in this week's Division II national poll.
 
Lock Haven scored two goals in the final 1:40 and four goals in the final 10 minutes of the game to claw back after Slippery Rock dominated the opening 50 minutes. The Rock controlled possession for more than 20 minutes in the first half and more than 10 minutes over the first 14 minutes of the second half, never really allowing Lock Haven to set up its offense.
 
SRU jumped out to a 6-2 halftime lead and extended that advantage out to 8-2 early in the second half before Lock Haven found some rhythm, in part thanks to a 7-4 edge in draw controls in the second half.
 
The Rock finished the game with a 23-18 advantage in total shots, which included a 15-7 edge in the first half. Both teams were credited with 19 ground balls and 10 draw controls. LHU turned the ball over 19 times and was just 8-of-17 in clear attempts. SRU turned the ball over 17 times and was 6-of-13 on the clear.
 
While Saturday's game marked Senior Day for seven Slippery Rock seniors, two of the strongest players on the field for The Rock were underclassmen in junior goalie Emily Bitka and redshirt sophomore midfielder Tia Torchia.
 
Bitka recorded 10 saves and five ground balls and came up huge against the potent Lock Haven attack, holding the Bald Eagles to 0-for-6 on free position attempts and keeping the league's leading goal scorer, Rachel Engler, to just one goal. Engler entered the game with 41 goals on the year.
 
Torchia was a matchup problem all day for LHU and finished the game with four goals, five draw controls, three caused turnovers and four ground balls. She also posted a game-high seven shots on goal.
 
Freshman midfielder Tori Penders tallied two goals, junior attacker Bre Vodde added one goal and one assist and freshmen Lisa Casagrande and ShyAnne Toomer each scored one goal. Seniors Caitlynn Palladino and Chynna Chan each tallied one goal to round out the scorers for The Rock.
 
Lock Haven was paced by Hayley Kilian with three goals and one assist and Ashley Gochenaur with two goals. Goalie Hannah Houde, who transferred to Lock Haven from Slippery Rock after the 2014 season, made 11 saves in the loss.
 
Slippery Rock is now one of only two teams in the PSAC with at least 10 wins on the year, with the other being first place East Stroudsburg (11-2, 7-1 PSAC). The Rock have a head-to-head win over ESU from earlier this season, but still find themselves in fifth place in the league standings, just a half-game ahead of Bloomsburg and Seton Hill for the sixth and final playoff spot.
 
SRU has four games left in the regular season and is looking to clinch the first PSAC playoff berth for the program since it was reinstated in 2007. The top six teams in the league standings will qualify for the postseason tournament. The Rock will host Gannon in their final home game Tuesday at 4 p.m. before closing the year with road trips to Mercyhurst, Millersville and Shippensburg.
 
 
Notes: Slippery Rock honored seven senior players before the game Saturday, including Palladino, Chan, Kaleigh Murray, Ally Culhane, Miranda Reininger, Morgan McLaughlin and Brittany Brewer … all seven seniors started and logged heavy minutes … SRU's 10 wins mark the fourth most for the program in school history, trailing only the 12 wins from 2012 and 11 wins from 2011 and 1983.



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